Udayan Mane bags Golconda Masters 2020

Key Highlights -

→ Udayan Mane reigns supreme with a clinical 67 to make it back-to-back titles on the TATA Steel PGTI

→ Viraj Madappa delivers week’s best score of 62 to finish joint runner-up with Aman Raj

→ Hole-in-one for Abhishek Kuhar

{Press Release}: Pune’s Udayan Mane reigned supreme at the Hyderabad Golf Club (HGC) on Saturday as he posted a clinical four-under-67 to make it back-to-back titles on the TATA Steel PGTI with victory at the Vooty & Haldi Presents Golconda Masters Golf Championship 2020 Powered by Telangana Tourism.

Mane, who closed the week with a total of 17-under-267, bagged his ninth professional title with a two-shot margin at the season-opening Rs. 40 lakh event. It was the 28-year-old’s second win at the Golconda Masters following his 2018 triumph. Udayan had also won PGTI’s last event, the 2019 season-ending Tour Championship in Jamshedpur in December.

Bengaluru’s Viraj Madappa delivered a scintillating nine-under-62, the week’s best score, to clinch the joint runner’s up spot at a total of 15-under-269 along with Patna’s Aman Raj who fired the last round of five-under-66.

Udayan Mane (68-67-65-67), lying one off the lead in second place after round three, was off to a steady start in the final round making pars on the first five holes. Round three leader Veer Ahlawat of Gurugram dropped bogeys on the fourth and fifth to concede the lead to Mane.

Udayan said, “Back-to-back wins are always special and it feels awesome to have achieved it. I would love to take this form forward into the next events. It’s also good to win at the HGC for the second time. It’s turning out to be my happy hunting ground.

Mane has now become the seventh player to win back-to-back titles on the PGTI following in the footsteps of Ashok Kumar, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Shamim Khan, Anirban Lahiri, Mithun Perera, and Honey Baisoya. Honey Baisoya was the last player to win back-to-back titles on the PGTI when he bagged the Pune Open and Delhi-NCR Open in April 2018.

Viraj Madappa (69-68-70-62), lying tied 10th and eight off the lead ahead of the final round, had a rather quiet first eight holes with two birdies and a bogey. Asian Tour regular Viraj then went on a rampage with eight birdies between the ninth and the 18th courtesy a hot putter.

Viraj, who was one short of Gaurav Pratap Singh’s 2019 course record of 61, said, “It was a tale of two contrasting 9s for me. I missed a lot of opportunities on the front-nine today. I then more than made up on the back-nine by putting myself in good positions and sinking almost every putt. Making 10 birdies in a round is always special. I’ll draw a lot of confidence from this performance.”